CORINA, FROM LAP DANCE TO SUNDANCE Announced At Santa Monica Playhouse

Corina, From Lap Dance to Sundance recounts the journey of how Corina Calderon went from working as a stripper in Austin, Texas, to being cast as the lead in a feature film that was nominated for the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. From hiding the truth from her judgmental, Mexican-American Catholic family, to finding support and friendship in the strip club. Written and performed by Corina Calderon, and directed and developed by Jessica Lynn Johnson,and playing for one night only, September 14th at 8:00 pm at Santa Monica Playhouse.

The show retells her upbringing, her newfound confidence as a woman and an artist using various forms of dance: Cumbia, Salsa, and Merengue, multiple characters and multimedia to showcase her life and follow a narrative of perseverance to fulfill her dream of coming to Hollywood, no matter the cost.

"Corina Calderon is something special. You can tell right away as she walks on stage. She is petit, poised, strong, beautiful and full of power. She begins her journey with us as she began her journey to us, moving to the music, barely clothed and owning her life. Corina Calderon is a star!" NoHoArtsDistrict.com

Corina Calderon is a Mexican American actress best known for her role as Jazmine in End of Watch, directed by David Ayer and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña. She was named "Breakout Actress of the Year and Actress to Watch at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival" by Deadline.com, and her performance was recognized by The Hollywood Reporter as "an auspicious debut as a leading lady" for her role in the Sundance-nominated feature film All She Can, directed by Amy Wendel. Calderon was nominated alongside Gina Rodriguez, Eva Longoria and Eva Mendes for Best Film Actress at the Imagen Foundation Awards in 2012. Other credits include a recurring role on the TNT hit series Murder in the First, created by Steven Bochco and starring Taye Diggs; C/Warner Bros. motion picture, Suicide Squad under the direction of David Ayer; and the lead role, alongside Emmy-nominated actor Richard Cabral, in Khali the Killer, released by Millennium Films.

Jessica Lynn Johnson is a published playwright, recipient of BEST NATIONAL SOLO ARTIST AWARD, Board Member of the LA Women's Theatre Festival, Director for Whitefire Theatre's SOLOFEST, and Founder & CEO of Soaring Solo LLC. Jessica works as a full time Director & Developer of solo theatre having aided in the development of over 75 solo shows (and still going strong). As a performer, Jessica has "edu-tained" international audiences touring her own 25 character one person shows ZE and OBLIVIOUS TO EVERYONE for over 13 years. Over the years, Jessica's projects have taken home awards such as TOP OF FRINGE, HFF ENCORE PRODUCER AWARDS, TVOLUTION BEST SOLO PERFORMANCE, LARRY CORNWALL AWARD FOR MUSICAL EXCELLENCE & several other accolades. Jessica was most recently nominated Female Director of Distinction in Theatre by Girl Trip LLC at the 2018 Hollywood Fringe Festival.

Corina, From Lap Dance to Sundance plays Saturday, September 14, 2019 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $20 on line at https://www.santamonicaplayhouse.com/lapdancesundance.html or call 310-394-9779 ext. 1.

By public transportation: take the Santa Monica Blue Bus or the LA Metro Rapid #720 and exit at 4th and Wilshire or ride the Expo line to Colorado and 4th. The Playhouse is four blocks north of the station.

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